Wind-engine



(No Model.)

No'. 254,303. Patented Feb". 28,1882.

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= p UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER GERING, OF BURRTON, KANSAS.

WIND-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 254,303, dated February 28, 1882. i i Application filed December 9, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER GERING, a citizen of Burrton, Kansas, residing at Burrton, in'the county of Harvey and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Wind-Engines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to wind-wheels and, th eirconnections to water-elevatin g apparatus; and the novelty consists in the construction and arrangement of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth, and specifically pointed out in the claim.

One of the objects of the invention is to accommodate the wheel to greater and lesser upon the upper portion.

velocities of wind by such an arrangement that the lesser velocity will have a more direct action upon the wheel than the greater, and thus avoid the wrenching and friction of the Wheel-shaft in its bearings. It being well known that the upper portion of the wheel receives the wind of the greater velocity, I incline my wheel from a vertical plane in such a manner that the lower sails will be farther from the shaft-bearings than the upper ones; and by this arrangement. the lower portion receives the direct action of the wind, which, beingdeflected by the incline of the plane of the wheel, creates a current in that direction and materially affects the force of the wind This arrangement equalizes the force of the wind upon the wheel and tends to make an equilibrium when the proper incline is attained.

Other objects and advantages will be obvious from the construction, which will be described and illustrated.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a rear elevation of my improved windmill. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof and Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views of elevating-buckets, &c.

In carrying out my invention I use a framework or tower, A, of suitable construction, shown in the present instance mounted upon the walls of a flume or pan, B, within which are arranged buckets a, secured to an endless chain, a, to elevate water into a dam formotive power. The pan or flume B has a chute or forwardly-inclined portion, 1), to readily return the drippings or undischarged water of the buckets to the pan or flume. This arrangement of parts will be referred to hereinafter more fully.

G is a turn-table or support mounted to revolve upon the tower Ato permit the shifting of the wheel with the change in the direction of the wind, as is common.

D is the wheel, whose hub c has a number of vanes or sails, D, and whose shaft D is journaled in boxes secured in or upon the crosspieces at the upper end of the turn-table or support 0. The vanes or sails D may be connected together by chains or other suitable means, I], and also to a projecting portion of the shaft D similarly. It will be noticed that the wheel, with its shaft, is disposed in an oblique or inclined position to cause its lower .part to extend beyond and its upper part inward from a vertical plane passing centrally through it, enabling its lower part to receive the direct force of the wind of lesser velocity and thus counterbalance the loss of force upon the upper part, where the wind of greater velocity is deflected by the current passing across the face of the wheel in the direction of the incline. The turn-table supporting the wheel-shaft has a vane, E, to aid the shifting thereof by the wind.

Upon the shaft D is a large pinion, e, which communicates the motion thereof to a pinion, f, on a vertical shaft, F, bearing in the tower or frame-work A, and having at its lower end a pinion, g, gearing with a second pinion, h, on a driving shaft, h, suitablyjournaled in the tower at its base. Theshaft It has also a driving-belt pulley, k for transmitting motion by beltor otherwise to the mechanism or device to be operated.

G is a lever pivoted at one'end to the side of the upper end of the turn-table O, and having a strap of metal, 2', or other suitable material connectedto it, and passing over the periphery ofthe driving pinion c, with its other end secured to the opposite side of the turntable. The free end of the lever G has an attached spring, 0, the inherent force of which is designed to hold the strap 2' off the pinion 0, except when it is desired to retard or stop the wheel, in which case the force of the spring is overcome by the operator through a cord,

m, to depress the lever G, and the strap 6 is forced into frictional contact with said pinion.

To again refer to the endless chain of buckets, it will be noticed that its shaftsj are suitably hung in the flume or pan walls and have sprocket-wheels 7c,wl1ich en gage with the ch ainbelts a to effect the movement of the buckets a.

The chain-belts may be made of twisted links or of links made in either of the forms shown in Figs. 1 and 4. One of the shafts j has a pulley, around which is passed a belt, I, for driving it and operating the chain of buckets by the windmill.

Instead of constructing the endless chain of buckets as above described, the same end may be attained as shown in Fig. 3, where the buckets are connected together by links m and provided with friction wheels or disks m, two at each end of each bucket, traveling upon rails n, and the shafts j, provided with large diskwheels K, having peripheral notches engaging with the short axes of the disks an.

From the foregoing it will be seen that different forms of sprocket-wheels, as well as different forms of chain-belts, can be used for the endless chain of buckets.

It will be further noticed that the tower or frame-work A, with its superposed machinery and inclosed gearing and shafts, can be transported from place to place for elevating water from a'well and for other similar purposes, in addition to that shown and particularly described. v

The specific construction of the elevating mechanism is designed to be the subject-matter of a separate application.

I am aware that it is not broadly new to incline wind-wheels for other purposes.

What I claim as new is The shaft D and pinion 0 combined with strap 6, lever G, spring a, and an operatingcord, m, as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER GERING.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM P. SMITH, D. S. TOWNSEND. 

